Grand Prix 2018 French Grand Prix Practice, Qualifying & Race Discussion

I know you all know this but the phrase Grand Prix means Great Prize, which is a bit of a clue as to the history of motor racing. The first ever Grand Prix took place in France in 1906. There was a race in the first season of the World Championships in 1950 and apart from 1955 (after the Le Mans tragedy) there was a race in France every year up until 2008.

The French Grand Prix was, is and will continue to be part of the history of F1 and the fact that the powers that run Formula One chose to drop it from the calendar from 2008 was a disgrace and insult to the heritage of the sport. Regardless of the finances, there are certain races which must be on the F1 Calendar and France is one of those. Liberty media would do well to look at the history of the sport and learn what the sport needs not just from a financial perspective but also from an historical one.

Anyway, enough of my ranting France is back. Hooray! The race is taking place at Paul Ricard. Hooray, sort of. Why sort of? Well, Paul Ricard has a history in F1 with the race taking place there at various times in the 70's and 80's, sharing duties with the circuit at Dijon Prenois. But the circuit which was used back then has been heavily revised for safety reasons since the 80's. The old back straight was over a mile long and watching the turbo cars of the 80's blast down this was something to behold. After the death of Elio de Angelis a chicane was put in to the straight and then the circuit was shortened. The bizarre thing is de Angelis' death had little to do with the length of the straight and more to do with the poor emergency support at the practice session.

By the way, we shall have to refer to the circuit as Le Castellet otherwise we are giving free advertising to an alcoholic drink maker who only paid for the track to be built. Not like he deserves any credit is it? Perhaps we should now call it the Circuit Bernie Ecclestone, after the current owner. In fairness to Bernie he has invested a lot of money to improve the facilities to the point where it can host a Grand Prix but then he has a lot of money doesn't he.

So along with the emasculated track comes another strange innovation. There are no gravel traps at Le Castellet, instead there are blue and red stripes painted around the edge of the track which are designed to slow the cars down should they enjoy an excursion off road. These painted run off areas are a mix of asphalt and tungsten and the red sections are deeper than the blue so give more grip to the tyres, slowing the cars down. Having watched a WTCC race it is sometimes difficult to work out where the track runs and, reading some stuff to write this article, found out that the circuit has 167 possible configurations. I wonder if any of the drivers will get lost?

Having just got over the "excitement" of Canada I can't be bothered to get too much into where we are in the 2018 championship. Suffice to say that pole will be either from Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull and the winner will also be from one of these teams. The test will be whether Merc bring their upgraded engine to France and if this will get them closer to Ferrari.

Enjoy one of the historically most important races Formula One could have. I hope it will provide some close action but I have a horrible feeling it will struggle to beat the number of overtakes in Canada. It should be better than Monaco though.
 
Last edited:
The French Grand Prix! It’s back!

Liberty have shown here a respect for the history of the championship that has been sorely lacking under other regimes.

France is the home of motorsport: there’s a reason that the European legs of the Triple Crown are in France and in a French-speaking micro-state surrounded by France. There’s a reason the FIA (not the IFM) is based on the Place de la Concorde. F1 needs to be somewhere in France; if it’s to be Le Castellet, so be it.

The last French GP was probably the race where Räikkönen slightly unfairly lost that Ferrari number 1 status due to a technical. It was sort of the end of the elite status he once held. Hamilton was pissing around in midfield too.
 
I love Paul Ricard too even if the colours mess with your eyes now days. I very much associate this circuit with Ivan Cappeli and the first time a certain Adrian Newy showed his potential.
 
20180611_112155.jpg
 
Last edited:
The chicane looks like one of those odd non-roundabouts they have in Spain.
 
It's been a while since we last saw France host a race, let's hope that this one will be a little more exciting than the last couple have been. Delayed highlights again for me *sighs* and with it starting an hour later than the usual European races I suppose it will be later in the evening before I see it. Damn the football taking over everything

I love Paul Ricard too even if the colours mess with your eyes now days. I very much associate this circuit with Ivan Cappeli and the first time a certain Adrian Newy showed his potential.

The colours very much upset me due a health issue I have, as does Austen, among others.
.
 
.... Damn the football taking over everything...

Here, here. I have begun to fear the end of any programme on the Beeb or ITV, the ads are obnoxious, especially when you look at how long the home nations have lasted in the last heaven knows how many years. All three of England's goals in the contest will have a trillion replays each.
 
Im on opposite end of the football banner. I'll be watching England game v panama live instead of french gp live. & only happens a month every 2 years. Should be a fantastic month for me

Yeah they might let ylu down. But you always live in hope :D
 
Nah, never in hope...
Only hope for Wales to qualify:D

Ah true & have to thank you for qualifying for the last euros. As it was 1 of most entertaining internationals id seen for few years. As was like premier league game.

& sorry for rubbing it in. 1 of my fav moments as england fan that sturridge winner. As its rare time that you can feel proud as an england fan ;)
 
Well, I gather, baring any issues, that the top four qualifiers will be driving for Mercedes or Ferrari. With Mercedes receiving their new engines, does this mean they will be sitting on the front row?
 
I read an article the other day where Daniel Ricciardo was saying his experience of racing at Paul Ricard is really going to be an advantage. He isn't the only one to have raced here though. If his theory is correct expect good performances from:

Brendon Hartley
Carlos Sainz
Pierre Gasly
Esteban Ocon
Sergi Sirotkin
Kevin Magnusen
Stoffel Vandoorne
Lance Stroll

That's over 40% of the field that's raced here before. So maybe not that much of an advantage Dan.
 
Back
Top Bottom